Question 1: The Nevada Higher Education Reform, Accountability and Oversight Amendment
Formal name: Assembly Joint Resolution No. 5 (79th Session)
Type of measure: Legislatively referred constitutional amendment
Groups organized: Yes on 1 for Higher Education
Other groups in favor: Las Vegas Metro Chamber of Commerce, Nevada AFL-CIO
Summary of what it does: Question 1 would remove language including the Board of Regents from Article 11 of the Nevada Constitution, instead requiring the Legislature to provide by law for the “governance, control, and management and the reasonable protection of individual academic freedom.” The amendment would also clarify certain legal provisions related to money provided by federal land grant funds provided as part of the 1862 Morrill Land Grant College Act, in part by updating the state’s legal language to match congressional amendments made in the time since and by removing references to the Board of Regents.
How did Question 1 qualify for the ballot? As a legislatively referred constitutional amendment, Question 1 was overwhelmingly — though not unanimously — approved by two successive legislative sessions as Assembly Joint Resolution 5. First introduced in 2017, AJR5 was passed 38-4 in the Assembly and 18-2 in the Senate. In its second run through the Legislature in 2019, the measure was approved by margins of 36-5 in the Assembly and 20-0 in the Senate.
Read the full story, including arguments for or against passing Question 1, at The Nevada Independent.
As a note of disclosure, the Board of Regents for the Nevada System of Higher Education owns the license to this station.
